Quickly exit this site by pressing the Escape key Leave this site
This site is a beta, which means it's a work in progress and we'll be adding more to it over the next few weeks. Your feedback helps us make things better, so please let us know what you think.
15:22 19/11/2021
Two men who carried out a brutal, sustained assault on their victim before his body was dumped in a Boston waterway have been jailed for life.
Marcin Stolarek was assaulted by Lukasz Ferenc and Adam Kaminski at a house in Union Court on the night of 27th into the 28th November, 2019.
Marcin Stolarek
After the assault, the 42-year-old’s body was bundled into a Vauxhall Astra car driven by Artur Klosowski before it was thrown into the waterway.
Marcin’s body is believed to have remained in the waterway until it was found at the Chain Bridge pumping station on Sunday, 12th January, 2020. The discovery prompted one of the largest murder investigations in Lincolnshire for several years, with officers from East Midlands Specialist Operations Unit supported by specialist officers from the National Crime Agency.
At Lincoln Crown Court today, Judge John Pini said the murder was of "shocking brutality, akin to an execution".
A post-mortem revealed Marcin had suffered significant head injuries, cuts, and fractures to his cheek bone and left leg.
Today (19 November) at Lincoln Crown Court, Kaminski and Ferenc were sentenced for Marcin’s murder.
Det Supt Karl Whiffen, of East Midlands Special Operations Unit (EMSOU), led the investigation.
Following sentencing, he said: “I cannot begin to imagine the pain suffered by Marcin’s family who continue to grieve the loss of a son, and a father. Our thoughts are with them today.
“This was a painstaking investigation that lasted 16 months, and it’s thanks to the tireless efforts from my team that Ferenc and Kaminski will now spend years in prison.
“There were a number of challenging elements: Initially we did not have an identity for the victim, but thanks to the support of people locally and in Poland, we began to build our case. Given the many weeks between the murder and discovery of Marcin’s body there were other challenges too, but the team remained resolute.
“Our goal has always been to provide answers for Marcin’s family, and to make sure his killers were brought to justice.”
Our investigation began after officers were called to the pumping station on Chain Bridge Road, Boston, following a call at 6.57pm on Sunday, 12th January 2020. The caller reported that he had found what he thought to be a body.
At this stage the identity of the male found at the pumping station was unknown. A huge number of resources were brought in from across the East Midlands to assist in the investigation: fingertip searches of the banks of the waterway near the pumping station took place just metres away from specialist underwater search teams. Forensic specialists were drafted in while house-to-house enquiries were made.
A media campaign was launched in an effort to identify the victim, including a Polish language appeal from one of our officers and visuals showing a distinctive tattoo and clothing. The appeals were seen by a friend of Marcin and also his family in Poland, helping us to identify him.
The response and support from communities in the east and south of Lincolnshire with links to Poland was strong and particularly helpful to the investigation team.
It was later established that, following our media release confirming that a murder investigation had been launched, Kaminski and Justina Swaitek entered shops to buy paint, tape, brushes, sandpaper, disinfectant, tiles, superglue and dust sheets. It is believed that a clean-up operation was taking place in the property where the assault took place.
Following extensive efforts and thanks to the help of the public, within a week of the initial call – on 16th January, 2020 – Kaminski was arrested on suspicion of murder. Ferenc was arrested and charged the following month.
Klosowski left Boston on January 16th, driving to Holyhead in Wales before taking a ferry to the Republic of Ireland.
A relentless pursuit of Klosowski by the investigation team led to his arrest in Ireland on October 26, 2020. He was brought back to the UK along with the vehicle he had used during the offence and first appeared at a court hearing on 1st December last year. Klosowski pleaded guilty to a charge of perverting the course of justice. The initial charge of murder against Klosowski was dropped.
Sylwia Strek was found guilty of perverting the course of justice for lying to police about her knowledge and involvement, and that of Lukasz Ferenc, with Marcin Stolarek.
In a victim impact statement read at court, Marcin’s father said: “The murder of my son caused my heart to break in to a thousand pieces, which will never mend again.”
Another victim impact statement, from Marcin’s mother, read: “I do not know how to put into words my heart-breaking pain…It was he who was supposed to bury me, not I him, although I actually died with him.”
Sentencing is as follows:
Following the sentencing of those involved in the murder of Marcin Stolarek in Boston in 2019, Detective Superintendent Karl Whiffen gives an overview of the case and thanks all of those involved in helping bring them to justice.